Dummy plug and detachable handle therefor



Feb. 24, 195.3: J. w. DETERMAN DUMMY PLUG AND DETACHABLE HANDLE THEREFOR Filed Aug. 28, 1950 Joseph W Defer/nan INVENTOR. BY an Patented Feb. 24, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DUMWEY PLUG AND DETACHABLE HANDLE THEREFOR Joseph W. Determan, Oklahoma City, Okla.

Application August 28, 1950, Serial No. 181,877

3 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to handy and practical means for covering electric appliance outlets, in a home or elsewhere, which are not in use and the obvious purpose of this invention is to shield and render the source of electricity temporarily inaccessible, particularly to children, whereby to reduce electric shocks, from outlets, to a minimum.

Another object of the invention is to provide simple and practical outlet covering and safeguarding means in which manufacturers and users Will find their primary needs fully met, contained and effectively available.

A further object of the invention is to provide a two-part accessory wherein one part takes the form of a prong equipped dummy plug and the companion part takes the form of a detachable handle, in the form of a key, which may be easily and successfully used by adults but not successfully used by uninformed juveniles.

The preferred embodiment of the invention has to do with a prong equipped dummy plug to cover an electrical outlet, said plug having a key hole therein which is expressly adapted to accommodate a readily applicable and removable key which latter functions as a plug removing handle.

Other objects and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following description and the accompanying illustrative drawings.

In the accompanying sheet of drawings wherein like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the views:

Figure l is a perspective view of fragmentary type showing a portion of a floor and wall, an ordinary type outlet and the improved safeguarding dummy plug with its prongs mounted in the outlet;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the prong equipped side of the dummy plug;

Figure 3 is a section taken approximately on the plane of the vertical line 33 of Figure 4;

Figure 4 is a view partly in section and partly in elevation (with the outlet means in phantom lines) showing the manner in which the key serves as an extracting handle for the plug; and,

Figure 5 is an elevational view of the key per se.

Reference being had to Figures 1 and 4, the numeral 5 designates a floor, 8 a molding strip and In a wall in which the usual outlet box 12 (see Figure 4) is mounted. The box is provided with a receptacle or outlet 14 and the usual detachable escutcheon plate It.

The invention has to do with the readily applicable and removable safeguarding and covering plug [8. This plug is of semi-spherical form and has a convex surface 20 and a fiat surface 22. It is preferably constructed of suitable insulation material and provided with spaced parallel prongs 24-24 having laterally bent anchoring heads (see Figure 3), said heads being denoted at 25 and suitably embedded in the plug. The plug is unique in that it has a central rectangular or equivalent slot 28 which constitutes a key hole and the inner end of the slot is counterbored as at 30 to provide shoulders or abutments 32.

The key hole means is adapted to accommodate a readily attachable and detachable handle. The handle is preferably in the form of a so-called key 34. It may be fashioned from a length of round wire or the like. It includes a straight shank 36 having a laterally bent extracting lug 38 at its inner end and having a finger-ring 40 at its outer end.

The dummy plug may be applied to the receptacle means without the aid of the handle. That is to say, prongs 24 are fitted into the usual sockets in the receptacle or outlet means in an obvious manner. This is brought out in Figure l and from the showing here made it will be seen that the dummy plug when applied constitutes a safeguarding shield or cover for the outlet. It renders the current source in the outlet temporarily unavailable and inaccessible. When it is desired to extract and remove the dummy plug the handle means 34 is brought into play. This is accomplished by passing the lug equipped shank 36 through the keyhole or slot and then turning the key axially to engage the lug 38 with one of the shoulders or abutments 32. With the key thus temporarily coupled to the plug it becomes a handle and the handle and plug may be simultaneously detached from the outlet means.

It is thought that a dummy plug equipped with a permanent knob or handle would not do inasmuch as it could be easily removed and access to the outlet could be then had. However, by providing a detachable handle in the form of a key. the combination handle and plug become a far more satisfactory, practical and safe solution of the ever existing problem of preventing youngstars from having unrestrained access to a dangerous source of electric power.

Minor changes in shape, size, materials and rearrangement of parts may be resorted to in actual practice provided that no departure is made from the invention as claimed.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A temporarily usable safeguarding cover for service outlets comprising a dummy plug having 3 prongs adapted to fit into the usually available sockets in said outlet, said plug having a central keyhole and being provided in its inwardly disposed flat side with a counterbore, the latter providing key accommodating abutments.

2. A temporarily usable safeguarding cover for household service outlets comprising a semispherical dummy plug having prongs on its fiat side adapted to fit into the usually available sockets in said outlet, said plug having a central keyhole and being provided with a counterbore, the latter providing key accommodating abutments and a key detachably associable with said plu said key fitting removably in said keyhole and embodying a shank with a lateral bend which is selectively engageable with said abutments.

3. The structure defined in claim 1 and a handle having a shank fitted rotatably and removably REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date D. 151,571 Tillinghast Oct. 26, 1948 1,572,079 Platt Feb. 9, 1926 1,588,183 Goddard June 8, 1926 1,906,929 Krueger May 2, 1933 

